Badr-A ( ur, , meaning ''Full Moon-A'') was the first
artificial
Artificiality (the state of being artificial or manmade) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity.
Connotations
Artificiality ...
and the first digital
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...
launched by Pakistan's national space authority — the
SUPARCO — in 1990.
The ''Badr-A'' was
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
's first indigenously developed and manufactured
digital communications
Data transmission and data reception or, more broadly, data communication or digital communications is the transfer and reception of data in the form of a digital bitstream or a digitized analog signal transmitted over a point-to-point or ...
and an experimental artificial satellite which was launched into
low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
by Pakistan on 16 July 1990, through a Chinese
carrier rocket
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and syste ...
.
The launch ushered new military, technological, and scientific developments in Pakistan and also provided data on radio-signal distribution in the
ionosphere.
Originally planned to be launched from the United States in 1986, the
''Challenger disaster'' furthered delayed the launch of the satellite which changed the plan. After the People's Republic of China offered Pakistan to use its facility, the ''Badr-A'' was finally launched from
Xichang Satellite Launch Center
The Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), also known as the Xichang Space Center, is a spaceport of China. It is located in Zeyuan Town (), approximately northwest of Xichang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan.
The facility bec ...
in 1990 on
Long March 2E
The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket from the Long March 2 family. The Long March 2E was a three-stage carrier rocket that was designed to launch commercial communications s ...
. ''Badr-A'' travelled at , taking 96.3 minutes to complete an orbit, and emitted radio signals at the 145 to 435
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
bands which were operated by
Pakistan Amateur Radio Society
The Pakistan Amateur Radio Society (PARS) is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in Pakistan. It operates a QSL bureau for those amateur radio operators in regular contact with amateur radio operators in other countr ...
(PARS).
The ''Badr-A'' successfully completed its designed life, and a new satellite was proposed to be developed.
Before the launch
The history of the ''Badr-A'' project dated back to 1979, when
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched her first satellite,
Aryabhata
Aryabhata ( ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the ''Aryabhatiya'' (which ...
in year 1975.
After four years, on 13 December 1979,
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan ( ur, ; 20 May 1926 – 22 April 1999), , was a Pakistani nuclear reactor physicist who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nati ...
managed a cabinet-level meeting with
Chief Martial Law Administrator
The office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior and authoritative post with Zonal Martial Law Administrators as deputies created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and p ...
General
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...
and gained Suparco's status as an executive authority. In 1981,
Salim Mehmud
Dr. Salim Mehmud, also known as Salim Mehmood, is a Pakistani rocket scientist and a nuclear engineer. He is the former chairman of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). He has served as chief scientist at the Defence Scienc ...
addressed Munir Ahmad Khan proposing the development of an Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, the task previously achieved by India.
Munir Ahmad Khan took the matter to General Zia-ul-Haq who gave approval of this project. As part of the development of this project, Suparco sent a number of its engineers to
University of Surrey to participate in the development of
UO-11
UoSAT-2, which is also known as UO-11 and OSCAR-11, is a British satellite orbiting in Low Earth Orbit. The satellite functions as an amateur radio transmitter (known as an OSCAR) and was built at the University of Surrey. It launched into orbit ...
which was launched in 1984.
After participating in various projects with University of Surrey, the team returned to Pakistan in 1986.
Munir Ahmad Khan then returned to General Zia-ul-Haq and obtained his approval to begin practical work on Badr-1.
The project was started by Suparco's Dr. Salim Mehmud as director of the project and was supported by the members of Pakistan Amateur Radio Society.
The Suparco began building the satellite at the Instrumentation Laboratories (IL), with Dr. Muhammad Riaz Suddle serving as its project manager.
This project was called "''Project Badr''" and the ''Project Badr'' was initially funded financially by
Ministry of Telecommunications and the
Ministry of Science.
In short span of time, the ''Project Badr'' was completed, and the first satellite was named ''Badr-1''.
Design
The technical director of ''Badr-1'' was dr.
Salim Mehmud
Dr. Salim Mehmud, also known as Salim Mehmood, is a Pakistani rocket scientist and a nuclear engineer. He is the former chairman of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). He has served as chief scientist at the Defence Scienc ...
, Director of SUPARCO and the project was overseen by Dr. Muhammad Riaz Suddle, who served as its project manager. The satellite was slightly bigger than Soviet ''
Sputnik 1'' satellite in size.
The ''Badr-1'' was an indigenously built and developed satellite of Pakistan.
The major contractor was Instrumentation Laboratories and the Pakistan Amateur Radio Society, supported by Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Telecommunications.
The satellite shaped as a
polyhedron
In geometry, a polyhedron (plural polyhedra or polyhedrons; ) is a three-dimensional shape with flat polygonal faces, straight edges and sharp corners or vertices.
A convex polyhedron is the convex hull of finitely many points, not all on ...
with 26 surfaces or
facet
Facets () are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cut ...
s, was about 20 inches in diameter.
The polyhedrons, covered with highly polished
heat shield, made of aluminium-
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
-
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...
. The satellite carried two antennas designed by Instrumentation Laboratories. The
power supply
A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and frequency to power the load. As a ...
, with a mass of 52 kg. The satellite was powered with solar power panels with a 12.5
W electricity. The satellite was designed in SUPARCO's Satellite Research and Development Center in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
. The satellite had one radio channel for digital
store-and-forward communications.
A transponder uplink was near 435
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
, and the downlink was near 145 MHz. The telemetry beacon was near 145 MHz. Data from 32 telemetry channels, including information from 9 temperature sensors, 16 current sensors, and 5 voltage sensors, was stored in an 8k memory bank and transmitted at 1200, 600, 300 and 150
baud.
Originally designed for a circular orbit at 250–300 miles' altitude, Badr-1 actually was inserted by the Long March rocket into an elliptical orbit of 127–615 miles. The cost of development and preparation of satellite was no more than Rs. 1.2 million.
Launch vehicle preparation and launch site selection
The SUPARCO negotiated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the launch of the satellite and approval required from the United States Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
for the launch of the ''Badr-1''. The Air Force Strategic Command decided to fly the satellite by using one of its C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
aircraft in 1986 to Florida, United States. The ''Delta 3000
The Delta 3000 series was an American expendable launch system which was used to conduct 38 orbital launches between 1975 and 1989. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets. Several variants existed, which were differentiated by a four ...
'' was selected by NASA's administration as its launch vehicle. Preparation was made and its crew and satellite was stored at the aircraft, however, it was delayed due to unknown reasons. The ''Badr-1'' was never shipped to United States and its launch was delayed for until next four years. As aftermath of the Challenger disaster
On January 28, 1986, the broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). It was ...
in 1986, the United States Government and NASA had halt all the flights of the rockets carrying spacecraft and satellite payloads until the investigations were thoroughly completed. The satellite was stored at the Instrumentation Laboratories (IL) and SUPARCO began to negotiate with other space powers. In 1990, representatives of Chinese government
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...
offered Government of Pakistan to launch the satellite on one of its Long March Rockets and its facility. SUPARCO did not want to wait any longer, therefore, the Air Force Strategic Command flew the satellite, in sub-assembly form, to People's Republic of China. The satellite was re-assembled by Air Force Strategic Command and Suparco's official who visited the Xichang Satellite Launch Center
The Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), also known as the Xichang Space Center, is a spaceport of China. It is located in Zeyuan Town (), approximately northwest of Xichang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan.
The facility bec ...
. The satellite was load at the Launch Area 2 and final preparations were made. The Chinese Government used Long March 2E
The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket from the Long March 2 family. The Long March 2E was a three-stage carrier rocket that was designed to launch commercial communications s ...
, a three-stage orbital carrier rocket designed to commercial communications satellites, to launch the ''Badr-1'' who also took its first maiden flight with the launch of ''Badr-1'' on 16 July 1990.
Launch and mission
On 16 July 1990, the ''Badr-1'' was launched as a secondary payload on a Long March 2E rocket from Area No. 2 at XSLC. ''Badr-1'', a low-Earth orbit satellite, circled the Earth's orbit every 96 minutes, passing over Pakistan for 15 minutes three to four times a day. Scientists, engineers, technicians, and designers who developed the satellite watched the launch from range. They waited about 93 minutes to ensure that the satellite had made one orbit and was transmitting, before dr. M. Shafi Ahmad called Prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The downlink telemetry included data on temperatures inside and on the surface of the sphere. The satellite itself, a small but highly polished polyhedron, was barely visible at sixth magnitude, and thus more difficult to follow optically. The satellite completed its designated life successfully. On the first orbit, the Suparco globally announced the launch of the satellite, and the Science ministry confirmed the launch of the satellite. As the satellite completed its life, a new project was launched, more ambitious, advanced, and difficult than ''Badr-1''. However, even after the ''Badr-1I'' was completed, the satellite could not be able to launch until 2001.
Achievement
With the successful development and launch of the ''Badr-1'', Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
became the first Muslim country
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
, and second South Asian country after India, to place a satellite in orbit. The satellite gave Pakistani scientists an academic, scientific, and an amateur community experience in telemetry, tracking, control and data communications as the satellite successfully completed store and dump message tests for 5 weeks.
Despite the international success gained, the Pakistans' accomplishments were kept quiet in the homeland to prevent any exploitation of their failures or loss of secrets, which undermined the propaganda opportunity. The Pakistan Television
Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore.
Background
Historical co ...
, a state-controlled media authority, announced the first launch in televisions never made a headline, and only fewer details were projected. The ''Badr-1'' crushed the global perception that the country had not space program, and the space program was only dedicated to its military applications. The launch of the satellite united the people of Pakistan, and scientists who were involved in this project, were bestowed with national honours in public, and increased the pride of Pakistan.
The satellite formed the derivatives and the basis of the Badr-B
The Badr-B ( ur, ; also known as Badr-II, meaning ''Full Moon-2'') is the second spacecraft and the first earth observation satellite launched into Earth orbit on 10 December 2001 at 09:15 by the SUPARCO — Pakistan's national space agency. ' ...
satellite. The Badr-B was more sophisticated than Badr-l, with a CCD camera for pictures of Earth and a system that allowed ground stations to change the satellite's direction in space.
Mission goals
* acquiring know-how for indigenous development of satellites
* creating an infrastructure for future satellite development activities
* testing the performance of indigenously developed satellite subsystems in space environment
* performing experiments in real-time voice and data communications between two user ground stations
* demonstrating store-and-forward type message communication
* educating the country's academic, scientific and amateur community in the tracking and use of low-earth-orbiting satellites
Technical configuration
See also
* Badr-B
The Badr-B ( ur, ; also known as Badr-II, meaning ''Full Moon-2'') is the second spacecraft and the first earth observation satellite launched into Earth orbit on 10 December 2001 at 09:15 by the SUPARCO — Pakistan's national space agency. ' ...
* Badr (satellite)
* Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
The Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) ( ur, ) is the executive and national space agency of Pakistan. It is headquartered at the capital city of Islamabad in the northern part of Pakistan with additional facilities at th ...
References
External links
Official SUPARCO site
ARRL site
{{EngvarB, date=July 2016
Satellites formerly orbiting Earth
Badr satellites
Space programme of Pakistan
History of science and technology in Pakistan
First artificial satellites of a country
Government of Benazir Bhutto
China–Pakistan relations
Spacecraft launched in 1990